Last Respite
by Blonde Pickle Mule
Summary: "Give me what I want, and I'll go away," was what Voldemort said. "Give me Harry Potter and I'll let all of you live." The battle of Hogwarts is a bad place to make decisions, so people don't. They go along with what they've always done and fight.


_Give me what I want, and I'll go away,_ was what Voldemort said. _Give me Harry Potter and I'll let all of you live. _

And people were tempted for minute- they wouldn't be human if they weren't. They were offered a way out, a way to stop everybody dying, bleeding, screaming...and then they remembered. Remembered the past year of toils and pain and a sense of hopelessness that had almost taken hold. Give up Harry Potter and they'd go back to that, with the added guilt of betraying a friend.

They would go back to the Death Eaters breath down their necks, threatening them with every move they took. They would go back to the fear of those you loved not coming home, and there would be casualties, death, suffering. Give over Harry Potter, their beacon of hope and go back to their lives? A lot of people didn't think they could do it. Slowly one by one they would fall, for Voldemort did not forgive rebels with ease. Slowly they would succumb to the blackness of Voldemort's rule, and the world would begin to crumble as his arm stretched further over the sea.

With this knowledge the survivors of the Battle of Hogwarts straightened up right, threw back their shoulders and prepared themselves for the battering of their lives. They refused to let this Dark Creature (for he could hardly be considered human) bend their lives to his will. They refused to give up their freedom, their happiness for something that would give nothing back. They refused to give up someone who had never deserted them, and had always protected them whether it was intentional or not. They refused to give up their friend.

And so in their short respite they ran over the school, gathering the dead and treating the wounded. They found those they knew and loved and sat with them for what might well be the last time. They laughed together and tried to forget (as best you can when surrounded by rubble). They tried to give themselves hope. Teachers and Students mingled together in their last minutes, finally capable of talking to each other as equals in the face of death. When the high voice of the Dark Lord echoed throughout not just the hall but their very souls, the defenders wavered for a moment. They looked at each other. Then they stood tall.

When the Boy Who Lived was pronounced dead their grief was almost unbearable. When they were told he was running away they were furious, but not with the black-haired teenager who lay in Hagrid's arms. The anger of the masses was directed at the snake-like figure in the middle of it all, the _thing _that dared to talk about their own like that. They wouldn't, _couldn't _believe Harry Potter had run away. Anybody who had ever seen the boy had seen too much of James and Lily in him for cowardice.

And so they fought yet again. They fought over silence, fire, spells. And just as they were losing hope something would bring them back stronger than before. Rodolphus Lestrange was brought down. Anthony Goldstein was lost. Bellatrix Lestrange was brought down. Voldemort's wand was pointed at Molly Weasley-

_Harry Potter was alive._

The final stand begun with a protego charm. The two rivals, one light and one dark, circled each other on the cracked flagstones. Harry smiled, Voldemort's self belief began to fail. A streak of green lit the air, struck halfway by a shower of red. The snake fell dead, slit-like eyes staring blankly at the enchanted ceiling.

The beast was gone. They could live.

* * *

This is only at the bottom because I refuse to battle with the Editor over the Italics. Have I ever told you how much I HATE the editor? No? Well now you know. I despise it.

Anyway. I don't think this is my best at all, but it's not awful (I hope).

It was done for the Prompt of the Day at Hogwarts Online. "Give me what I want, and I'll go away." When Voldemort was asking they turn over Harry at the Battle of Hogwarts immediately came to mind.


End file.
